Page 49 of Rise of the Melody
She stood taller and looked at me, her expression pinched. “I’ve got one of my feelings.”
Yikes. Last time she’d had one of these feelings, I didn’t know we were magical. She’d asked me not to take the subway, so I’d walked home, which took forever. Then I found out there’d been a fatal robbery in the station where I would’ve been. Now it made sense. Her divination ability.
“What does it feel like?” I asked. “Do you see details?”
She shook her head and pressed a palm to her belly. “It’s mostly a general feeling of dread and fear. Sometimes it’s more specific. This time, it feels like a person.”
My skin prickled. “Okay. You’re sure it’s not the kelpie?”
“No.” Again, she shook her head. “A dangerous person. Do you mind staying home today? Not going into town?”
“Yeah, no problem.” I gave her a hug and we shared a small smile before I went up, feeling unsettled.
Chapter13
Betrayal
Back in my room, I opened the window in my turret area and sat on the cushion, pulling my knees up to my chest. My breathing was ragged as I thought about what could be wrong with my aunt, and what danger she was sensing. I let the sound of the ocean calm me as I stared out at the craggy coast. Dusk had begun to dim the sky.
A rush of movement outside the window and athwap-thwapsound startled me. I jumped as a bird landed on the windowsill. The eagle! I stared at him through the screen, staying still, because he could tear right through the flimsy material if he wanted. He stared at me, appearing very predatorial with the sharp point in his beak and those razor talons as long as my own fingers.
“Um, hi,” I whispered.
Behind me, I heard CooShee make a huff noise and then he rushed off the bed, bounding for the door. Oh, no.
“Coosh, not again—” But he was already out the door, thumping down the steps. The last thing I wanted was the hound getting into a fight with an eagle that was as big as my window.
I heard Aunt Lorna shout with surprise downstairs and imagined the hound barreling into the foyer and opening the front door. I was certain the eagle would fly away, but I followed because I was curious and obsessed with the giant creature.
“What’s going on?” Aunt Lorna asked when I ran down.
“Just checking on CooShee. I think he’s bird hunting.”
“Hm. Be careful.”
I nodded and dashed out the door. Outside, he was gone, but I heard a distant rustle deep in the trees. I took a deep breath of the clean, crisp air, and stepped off the porch toward the forest. I hadn’t ventured near it alone since we’d been here, but knowing CooShee was out there made me feel safer. Everything was so quiet, though. Even the bugs. Maybe it was just after dark that everything got loud.
I only dared to walk about six feet into the trees, stepping over brush and fallen branches, making sure the house was still in sight. It was crazy how much darker it was in the trees. We were miles from the national park, but I still wondered…would the kelpie ever venture this far? I’d read that they preferred still waters, not the ocean, so that was good.
Awareness suddenly prickled my skin. My gaze darted around, and just as I was about to turn and run home, a rush of heat sizzled over my flesh. My entire body felt suddenly wrapped in bands, unable to move. My throat and jaw tightened. The only thing I could physically do was breathe through my nose. Inside my chest, my heart thumped so loudly it made me feel deaf. Panic surged through me with nowhere to go.
Oh, gods. Did the kelpie have this kind of magic? I tried to scream for CooShee or Aunt Lorna, but my mouth and vocal cords wouldn’t work.
“Relax,” said a low voice behind me with a smooth, Scottish lilt.
Slowly, a figure began to come into view in my peripheral, moving languidly until I was face-to-face with dark brown hair and light blue-green eyes. My heart palpitated erratically now, my chest rising and falling too fast.
The guy from New York outside of the club! Gaia…definitely not a street magician. Or a hospital escapee. This was a druid, though I couldn’t rule out serial killer yet.
“We meet again,” he said breezily. He stood with his legs slightly apart, his hands clasped behind his back, wearing all dark colors like before. His hair was pulled back and a strand hung down over one side. “Only this time, you know everythin’.”
Aunt Lorna’s warning came back to me. The dangerous person had been right here at my freaking home.
He was going to kill me. Deep down, I was certain. The knowledge moved heavily through me like sludge, landing in my stomach. My brain fired off thoughts that weren’t helpful, like how I wished my cuff was off. And how CooShee was hunting a stupid bird at this very moment when I needed him.
The guy threw his hands up and a shimmering veil fell around us like a weeping willow dome. And then the tightening around my jaw and throat eased. I let out a whimper. The rest of my body was still magically tied. I tried to wiggle my body, but it wasn’t happening.
I mustered enough bravery to ask in a shaking voice, “Is this really necessary? I’m sure you saw my giant cuff. Am Ithatscary to you?”
